The Dallas Stars had two big restricted free agents to sign this upcoming offseason. One was Thomas Harley, and the other is Jason Robertson. The Stars and GM Jim Nill locked up defenseman Thomas Harley to an eight-year, $84.7 million contract with a $10.587 million cap hit. But is there enough left for Robertson?
NHL Rumors: Stars GM Jim Nill Wants To Keep Jason Robertson Long-Term
Many have been wondering about Jason Robertson’s future in Dallas, even before Harley was signed. He was in trade rumours over the summer once Mikko Rantanen inked an eight-year extension carrying an AAV of $12 million. Though Nill has stated that those trade rumours were a lot of talk, as the Stars want to keep this player long-term.
And while talks between Robertson and the Stars remain ongoing, despite Nill saying at the beginning of the year that talks were on pause, the goal remains the same: to keep Jason Robertson a member of the Dallas Stars for a long time.
As Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period told Jeff Marek on the Sheet, the Stars see Robertson as a part of their future moving forward.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Jeff Marek: “Something we haven’t talked about, you can shed some light on this one. Something I haven’t talked about a lot this year that I kind of thought would have been dealt with already, considering we are approaching double digits in games. One contract specifically: Jason Robertson. And where are we at? Based on your reporting on this player in Dallas.
Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, it’s nothing exciting, nothing sexy. It’s status quo. That’s what I’ve been told on both sides. Communication is still there. Lines are open. Everyone’s still comfortable, and nobody’s panicking by any stretch.
I’m with you. I thought at least one of these would have been wrapped up by now. They know the importance. We heard Robertson pop up in speculation going back to last season, especially around the Rantanen stuff. But Dallas was like no, we want this guy. We want him a long-term part of our future.
He is an RFA and is controllable, so it makes a sense of urgency and as you know Jeff, everyone loves to work on a deadline. So the sense of urgency isn’t exactly there at the moment. They have a lot of cap space next season, starting next season, on the projected 104, they’re at $28 million.
NHL Rumors: Extension Eligible Jason Robertson and Kyle Connor
So there’s enough money to go around. These are only the key, primary-key-free agents Dallas has. Both on the RFA and UFA side, minus a few other pieces. But from what I was told, it’s a fluid situation, nobody’s panicking, but also nobody seems to be rushing into trying to make something happen right now. Everyone knows how important he is to the team.”
However, it will be interesting to see what Jason Robertson ends up with in Dallas. Will it be an eight-year deal? Could it be less than eight years? It was clear from the start that Robertson wasn’t going anywhere, and it was all talk from outside of Dallas.
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